Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Update for October 28th – October 31st, 2011

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

Over 80% of Japan’s nuclear reactors are now out of service, a number that is expected to increase to 100% by next spring. The majority of the reactors were stopped for routine safety inspections, but have not been restarted because of safety concerns raised by residents in the wake of the Fukushima nucl

Nuclear Crisis Minister Goshi Hosono announced this week that the government is planning to move contaminated soil and other nuclear waste to a temporary facility in Fukushima Prefecture by January 2015—and the waste will be stored there for 30 years. The site is expected to occupy between 3 - 5 kilometers of land, and house 28 million cubic meters of waste measuring 100,000 Bq/kg or more. The location for the temporary facility has not yet been chosen. Hosono said it will be chosen in 2012, and construction will begin in 2014. Residents are expressing strong dissatisfaction with the decision, citing safety concerns. In addition, local officials are condemning the decision to store the waste in Fukushima for such a long period of time. Fukushima’s Governor, Yuhei Sato, has not yet approved the plan.

Residents of Fukushima who purchased high-pressure hoses and other decontamination equipment are expressing outrage that neither the government nor TEPCO will reimburse them for the expenditures. Many residents, fearing for their children’s health as well as their own, began decontaminating after local and central governments failed to do so in a timely manner. Fukushima municipal officials have repeatedly asked that residents be reimbursed for such equipment. The Environment Ministry is looking into the issue.